28 BIRD-KEEPER'S MANUAL. 



AMERICAN FINCHES. 



INDIGO FINCH. 



THIS little Bird has two very good qualifica- 

 tions ; it is beautiful and musical. It is a pretty 

 little Bird, and a very sweet singer. It has also 

 another characteristic peculiar to itself. It does 

 not seem to be the least annoyed when exposed to 

 the rays of a summer sun. During the heat of the 

 day, in summer, most of our birds retire to the 

 shade, and stop singing. But I have seen this 

 little bird sit for an hour or two, in an exposed 

 situation, in the meridian heat of a July sun, 

 piping its sweet little notes without intermission. 

 It is a very clean and docile bird in a cage, and 

 has still another recommendation, that the longer 

 you keep it the prettier it grows. I had one in 

 my possession which had been kept for four years 

 in a cage, and it was the most beautiful Indigo 

 Bird I ever saw in my life ; it was exactly like 

 a piece of bright polished indigo, and was also a 

 superior songster. 



FOOD. A mixture of hemp and Canary seed, 



